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Just as stunning as Arsenal’s decision to treble their previous transfer record and pay Mesut Özil a package worth £200,000 a week is Real Madrid’s willingness to let him go, although perhaps it should not have come as a complete surprise. History suggests that the Spanish club are not always the best judges of their own players.

In the equally frenzied summer of 2009, Real happily sold Arjen Robben to Bayern Munich to free up space in their squad for the impending arrivals of Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo, a decision that resulted in only one winner despite the Portuguese’s incredible